I Swear I'll Never Be Happy Again
by The Queen of Double Standards
Summary: Yukari needs to do this. IA needs her to stay. Their needs, once so similar, are completely opposite. It's time for the two to part ways. YukarixIA oneshot


**I Swear I'll Never be Happy Again**

Girl:  
><em>You know you can't give me what I need<br>__And even though you mean so much to me  
><em>_I can't wait through everything  
><em>Boy:  
><em>Is this really happening?<br>__I swear I'll never be happy again  
><em>_And don't you dare say we can just be friends  
><em>_I'm not some boy that you can sway  
><em>Both:_  
><em>_We knew it'd happen eventually  
><em>-If It Means a Lot to You by A Day to Remember

"Hey, Yukari, come on," Cul said, prodding the zoned-out girl, gazing at her curiously. Yukari gazed at Cul with a blank expression, still caught in her thoughts. "C'mon, Yu-chan, come back to us."

"No no, Cul, that doesn't work with her," Ring stated, shaking her head. She daintily clear out her throat and leaned toward Yukari. Dragging down her friend's hood and placing her lips next to the girl's ear, she shouted, "Yo, Yukari, get yer mind offa the moon 'n' pay attention to us!"

IA watched as Yukari jumped out of her skin and began shouting at Ring, who returned each accusation with one of her own. From several lunch tables away, IA watched that girl, her gaze locked on her eternally.

_Why?_ she wondered again and again, but no response ever came, and those eyes never met hers.

"The seniors are being bothersome again," Seeu sighed, casting a glare toward Yukari's table as the two upperclassmen continued shouting insults at each other. "I wish they'd just shut up."

"Stop being such a princess, Seeu," Mew retorted. "They can do whatever they want. It's their school, too."

Seeu averted her gaze, narrowing her eyes further. She was clearly annoyed at Mew now. "Shut up, Mew. They're a migraine. As if Cul herself wasn't bad enough, they felt the need to throw in those other two girls who never shut up."

_Why?_

IA pushed away from the table, her eyes carefully shut. She said in that calm voice of hers, "I'm leaving."

Seeu and Mew might have been thrown off from IA's abruptness, but they were used to her. Like everyone, they knew IA didn't say much. While most fifteen-year-old girls were nearly impossible to shut up, getting a single word out of IA was a great accomplishment. In a way, the fact that she'd even bothered announcing that she was leaving showed how much she cared for her friends.

"See ya," Mew replied, watching IA curiously.

IA didn't smile, but she'd never smiled before them except for once, and it hadn't been them she'd been smiling for. She'd refused to tell them who the smile was for even to this day.

IA passed by the table of seniors on her way out. Yukari, still arguing with Ring, watched her go. She felt that uncontrollable need to follow her. So, as Ring continued her yelling, Yukari mumbled, "I have to go."

"What the . . . ?" Ring mumbled, vaguely irritated, as Yukari dashed past her and out the exit IA had passed through. She looked to Cul for an answer, but Cul simply shrugged, as confused about Yukari's sudden exit as Ring was.

"Hey, Aria, wait up," Yukari called, chasing the departing figure through the courtyard. Although she didn't look back, IA did pause.

"I wasn't running," the girl said quietly, still not turning to face Yukari as the girl caught up.

When Yukari made her way to the younger girl, the walking continued instantly. She kept up easily with the younger's pace, and they walked quietly for a while. She didn't fail to notice IA's grip tightening around the book she held before her, bouncing lightly against her legs as she walked. Yukari finally ventured, "Are you alright, Aria?"

IA's knuckles went white as she gripped on so tightly to that book. She kept her eyes shut, still able to find her way even if she couldn't see it. "Who said you could call me that?"

Yukari winced a tad before stating, "I gave you that nickname, didn't I?"

That quiet voice repeated, "Who said you could call me that?"

Yukari smiled grimly, more to herself than to IA. "So you don't forgive me, then?"

"I have no idea what you mean. I have nothing to forgive you for."

"Come on, Aria," Yukari insisted, a little frustrated now as she cut the younger girl off and blocked her path. "What do you want from me?"

IA stopped, bothered by the interruption in her path, but she still wouldn't open her eyes or stray off that path to go around the other. "I don't need anything from you. Please move."

"Aria, look at me," Yukari ordered, staring at the younger girl.

"Please move."

Yukari planted her feet firmly in the ground. Then, through gritted teeth, she repeated, "Open your eyes and look at me, Aria."

"Please move." IA's grip on her book tightened further.

"Aria, look at me!" Yukari ordered.

"Just move!"

That shout tore itself from IA's lips, leaving her trembling as her shut eyes faced the ground. Many gazes fell on her. For most, it was the first time they'd ever heard the young girl speak. For the rest, they'd never heard more than a quiet murmur. None had heard such a sound from IA, not even she herself.

Yukari stared at IA. She didn't know what to do. That girl before her continued to tremble, the book in her hands gaining dents in the shapes of slim fingers. Gently, Yukari wondered, "Will you ever forgive me?"

IA remained silent for a moment before a muted voice came from her mouth. "Please move."

This time, Yukari did, and, as IA continued on her path, she didn't follow her.

. . .

"_Yu-chan, look at this!" IA giggled, showing off a strange plush creature she'd found within the store. "I think it's cute, don't you?"_

_Yukari gazed at the creature, slightly repulsed by its strangely-shaped limbs that came from many different parts of its body. "Are you sure that isn't a defect, Aria?"_

_IA frowned a little, drooping while she continued holding that thing up. However, it fell with her all the same. "It's not cute?"_

_Seeing that sad look on IA's face, Yukari couldn't help but smile and ruffle the hair on the top of the girl's head. "Of course it's cute. How about I buy it for you?"_

_IA beamed. Yukari had never seen a greater sight._

IA lay on her bed, staring up at her ceiling. That same plush animal lay on the bed beside her. She gazed at it silently.

_Why?_

She thought that once again and she sat up in her bed, hugging that toy to her stomach as she curled into a ball.

_Why?_

"_Please smile, Aria."_

IA stared at her sheets. _"Why would I smile when I'm sad?"_

"_Because I like you best when you smile."_

IA glanced out the bedroom window. _"Why should I smile when you're doing this to me?"_

"_Because I need you to smile or I don't think I can do it."_

She turned her eyes onto her closed bedroom door. _"I don't want you to do it."_

"_But I need to do it."_

She closed her eyes. _"I'm leaving."_

"_Aria, you can't just walk away from your problems."_

And then she opened them, turning them back out the window.

"_They'll always find their way back to you."_

Out the window, in front of this house, stood Yukari, gazing up at IA. IA stared back at her with an emotionless gaze. Then, slowly, carefully, she climbed out of bed and made her way outside. Once they both stood there, they silently stared at each other for all eternity.

"I need you," Yukari interrupted.

IA didn't reply.

"Please, Aria," she pleaded. "I'm not some boy that you can sway with those sad eyes. You know I need to do this. I need you to understand."

"I need you with me," IA sounded in that delicate voice. "I need you here with me tonight."

"I need to do this," Yukari replied, just a little bit stubborn. "Can't you wait for me?"

IA hung her head and looked away, sharp emotions cutting through her gaze. "I can't wait."

"Then what do you want from me?" Yukari pleaded, needing so desperately to know.

"I need you to stay," IA said, unable to look back at the other girl. "I need you to stay. If you can't give me that, I can't give you anything anymore."

"Aria." The older girl's voice broke, and she desperately dashed toward the younger girl, gripping her by the shoulders and staring at that elusive gaze with desperate eyes. "Please don't say that. I can't handle that. I need you. Without you, I'll never be happy. I won't ever be happy without you."

To start, she was met with silence, but then, softly, a hand look hold of the fabric of her shirt. Eyes that wouldn't look at her remained wide open, so innocent, so vulnerable. "Then stay."

But she couldn't. "Please, Aria."

IA gazed up sadly at the elder girl. "Then there's nothing left to do. Bye bye, Yu-chan."

"Aria." Yukari felt herself breaking to pieces. She shook the other girl, who showed no reaction. "Please, Aria. Tomorrow. Just give me until tomorrow."

The younger gently shook her head. "I can't wait any longer."

Those eyes, those eyes were so heart-wrenching, so gut-stabbing. "Why not?"

And then those eyes, those eyes were so tragic, so destroyed. They spoke more than any words ever could. Those eyes stayed locked on the other girl as those hands delicately took the hands off her shoulders. And then, those eyes looked away, and that girl started to walk. But a hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Why can't you understand?" Yukari wondered.

"I do understand."

"Then why won't you wait?"

"I just can't."

"Does this mean I'll never see you again?" The younger had been about to answer, but the elder cut her off. "Don't say it, Aria. Don't tell me that I can still be your friend. You know I don't want that."

"Then there's nothing more to say," IA murmured, pulling herself away once more and continuing to walk.

In one last, desperate attempt, Yukari, still standing in that same place, shouted, "I swear I'll never be happy again, Aria!"

Then, one last time, IA paused and looked back at her with those terrible eyes. "You know you can't give me what I need, Yukari."

That girl disappeared into her house. The other disappeared completely.

**Author's Note: So, in celebration that I managed to get ff to put IA, Yukari, and Rion on the character list, here's a oneshot with two of the three. I love these two together. This was based on a Zakumint (Tokyo Mew Mew) AMV that used to be up but it's gone now. Sigh. Also, I tend to see IA as a mysterious, quiet sort of girl so I completely ignored the basic personality she was given. Anyway, this was left primarily to your own interpretation. Please review and give me your thoughts if you have the chance :)**


End file.
